Pulverized-fuel carburetor and feeder



w. H. WHITAKER.

PULVERIZED FUEL CARBURETOR AND FEEDER.

.APPLICATION FILED OCT. 51 I920. l,%24,53.

Patented July 25, 1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET I.

[H um!! W. H. WHITAKER.

PULVERIZED FUEL CARBURETOR AND FEEDER.

Patented July 25, 1922'.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5. I920.

6 SHEETSSHE'ET 2.

il wue/wtom W. H. WHITAKER.

PULVERIZED FUEL CARBURETOR AND FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5. 1920.

Patented July 25, 1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

JQQ

W. H. WHITAKER.

PULVERIZED FUEL CARBURETOR AND FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5. 1920. ggg gg g Patented July 25, 1922.

6 SHEETS -SHEET 4.

hgmmm,

W. H. WHITAKER. PULVERIZED FUEL CARBURETOR AND FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5, I920. 1,42%,Q53.

Patented July 25, 1922.

s SHEETS-SHEET 5.

Sme/vwoz W. H. WHITAKER.

PULVERIZED FUEL CARBURETOR AND FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5. I920.

Patentd July 2 1922;, 6 SHEETSSHEET 6.

WILLIAM H. WHITAKER, O'E SNHELBYVILLE,IHII1\IOIS, ASSIGNQR T0 A'MERQQA ATOMIZED FUEL COMEANY, 0F SHELBYVILLE, ILLINOIS, A CQREORATION (31 SOUTH DAKOTA.

PULVIZED-FUEL GARBURETGR AND FEEDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, 1922.

Application filed October 5, 1920. Serial No. 4.1%,926.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. WHIT- AKER, a citizen of the United States, and. a resident of Shelbyville, in the county of Shelby and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Pulverized-Fuel Carburetor and Feeder, of which the following is a specification.

My invent-ion is a pulverized fuel feeder and carburetor for furnaces and has as its all important object the provision of a mechanism wherein the fuel and air will be simultaneously controlled and regulated for correct carburation and after which fed to the furnace.

The invention further provides a mechanism embodying a fuel hopper and a carbureting chamber together with means for regulating the amount of fuel and air to the carbureting chamber.

The invention also provides a pulverized fuel feeder and carburetor wherein a fan is employed that serves to draw the air into the carbureting chamber and also serves to blow the carbureted mixture to the furnace. Still another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of this character employing agitators in the hopper to loosen the fuel at the discharge opening of the hopper and thereby keeping this opening at all times clear.

With the preceding and other objects and advantages in mind, the invention consists in the novel combination of elements, con-,

structions and arrangement of parts and operations to be hereinafter enlarged upon, claimed and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete fuel feeder and carburetor;

Figure 2 is a view taken at right angles to Figure 1 and showing parts in vertical cross section;

Figure 3 is a top plan view;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of the invention;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken on line 55 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the upper section of the hopper embodied in the invention; and

Figure 7 is a perspective of the fuel feedingand regulating device used in connection with the invention,

Referring in detail to the drawin s wherein similar characters of reference de signate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral 5 designates a base upon which a vertical standard or support 6 is mounted. The numeral 7 denotes the lower section of a fuel hopper adapted to contain pulverized fuel. The bottom walls 8 of the hopper section 7 are inclined forwardly and formed integral with these walls and with the adjacent front wall at their lower end is a circular casing or housing 9 for a fuel feeding and regulating mechanism to be hereinafter referred to in detail. This section 7 is also cast with a vertically and rearwardly disposed plate 10 which rests upon and is secured to the upright or support 6.

The hopper proper is indicated at 11 and is provided with, at its lower end, outstanding flanges 12 which rest upon and are detachably secured to similar flanges 13 formed on the upper edge of the section 7, by bolts or other fastenings 14. This hopper is flared toward its upper end and adapted to close this upper end is a pair of hinged doors 15.

Mounted on the base 5 is a fan casing or shell 16 in whicha rotor or fan 17 is mount ed, the latter being driven by a motor indicated at 18 and mounted on a support 19 secured to the base 5. Plates 17 are secured to the opposite faces of the fan or rotor 17 to prevent the fuel from contacting therewith. An air inlet opening 20 is provided in one side of the shell 16, and surrounding this opening is an outstanding annular flange 21 which constitutes a carbureting or mixing chamber designated at 22.

The shell 17 is provided with an exhaust opening 16 at one side thereof and is adapted to communicate with a furnace (not shown).

Formed at the outer face of the shell and communicating with the carbureting or mixing chamber 22 is a vertically disposed passageway or duct 23 having communication at its upper end with a discharge openin 24 disposed at one side of the'casing 9. nipple or pipe joint 25 is secured to the annular flange 21 and secured to this pipe joint or nipple is an air supply pipe 26 having communication with the atmosphere.

A shaft 27 is journaled in the end walls of the casing 9 and has its ends extended beyond the same. One end of this shaft is operatively connected with and driven by reducing gearing indicated at 28, the latter being driven by a drive belt 29 driven from the motor 18. Fixed to rotate with the shaft 27 and dis osed within the casing 9. is a feed roller 30 fiirmed with a plurality of spaced longitudinally arranged grooves or pockets 31 which receive the pulverized fuel from the hopper and-drop the same into the discharge opening 24 from whence it falls to the mixing chamber 22 to be carbureted with the incoming air passing through the air pipe 26.

Slidably mounted upon the opposite end of the shaft 27 is a sleeve 32 formed with a circular plate 33 at its inner end provided with a circular boss 34 upon its inner face adapted to seat in a depression 35 in the adan upstanding pin 44 carried b jacent face of the-feed roller 30 when the sleeve 32,has reachedthe end of its movement in one direction. Extending laterally from the plate 33 at its outer edge is a plurality of spaced circumferentially disposed slidable blocks 36, each of which is received in one of the grooves 31. These grooves 31 are V-shaped in cross section while the members 36 are beveled from their outer face to their inner face.

A vertically disposed shaft 37 is journaled in the air pipe 26 and arranged within this pipe to control the passage of air therethrough and fixed to the shaft 37 is a damper 38. 'A forked lever indicated at 39 is operativel connected, intermediate its ends, with a collar 40 fixed to the sleeve 32. One end of this lever is pivoted to a horizontally disposed bracket 41. A link 42 has one end pivotally connected with the opposite end of the lever 39 and terminates in a slotted gulde 43 at its opposite end which receives an arm 45 fixed to rotate with the shaft 3 One end of this arm constitutes an indicating pointer 46 adapted to be moved over indicating indic-ia on the pipe 26 to indicate the position of the valve or damper 38. An operating handle 47 is fixed to the upper end of the shaft 37. Upon swinging the handle 47 it will be seen that the damper 38 and the sleeve 32 will be operated simultaneously and thereby move the members 36 to any desired point in the grooves 31 so that the pockets wili pick up an amount of fuel in proportion to the amount of air passing through the discharge pipe 26. When the handle 47 has been moved to a position to entirely ciose the damper the sleeve 27 will have been moved longitudinally forward to a position where the members 36 will. entirely fill the grooves or pockets 31, thus entirely cutting 05 the supply of fuel to the mixing chamber.

Journaled transversely in the hopper section 7 1s a shaft 48 and fixed to this sha t is a pair of agitator bars 49, each of which includes an obliquely disposed foot 50. The lower ends of these feet are disposed in the path of longitudinal ribs 31 of the feed roller and upon contact of these ribs 31 during the rotation of the feed roller, these agitators will be rocked in the hopper to loosen or agitate the fuel therein. In order to return the agitators to their normal position so that they will be engaged successively by the ribs 31 springs 51 are provided which are secured to the hopper section 7 and extended through circular members 52 and the ends of the shaft 48.

In operation the fan 17 and feed roller 30 are rotated by the caring above set forth and the motor 18. he rotating fan causes a suction through the pipe 26 and the incoming air mixes with the pulverized fuel passing into the carbureting chamber from the passageway 23.' From this point the carbureted mixture passes through the fan casing and is blown through the discharge opening 16 which will be in communication with the furnace (not shown) to be fed.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts ma be resorted to without departing from t e spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States, 1s:-

1. A fuel feeder and carburetor comprise ing a hopper, a cylindrical chamber at its lower end and communicating therewith, a roller in the chamber having a plurality of parallel rooves in its periphery, a plurality of slidab e members mounted in the grooves and capable of filling all or part of the latter, a slidable member to which the slidable members are connected, a fan having an inlet and outlet, an air pipe communicating therewith, a passageway communicating with the chamber and fan, a shaft journaled 1n the air pipe, a valve fixed thereto, a forked lever pivotally mounted at one end and having operative connection with the slidable member, a link pivotally connected with the opposite end of the lever, an arm fixed to the shaft and operatively connected with the link. an operating handle on the shaft whereby to simultaneously control the valve and shift the slidable member to position the slidable members at the desired point in the grooves. amotor for driving the fan, and driving means between the motor and feed roller.

2. A fuel feeder and carburetor comprising a hopper, a cylindrical chamber at its lower end and one end and having operative connection with the slidable member, a link pivotally connected with the opposite end of the lever, an arm fixed to the shaft and operatively connected with the link, and an operating handle on the shaftwhereby to simultaneously control the valve and shift the slidable member to position the slidable members at the desired point in the grooves.

WILLIAM H. WHITAKER. 

